New faces in Canada 7s squad

It’s all change for Canada’s senior men’s 7s program, with a new coach and a host of new names in the 22-man centralized squad for the 2016-17 HSBC Sevens Series. Damian McGrath will have an established core group to work – John Moonlight, Nathan Hirayama, Mike Fuailefau, Harry Jones, Justin Douglas, Pat Kay, and Adam Zaruba are all present – but will largely be working with inexperienced youngsters and entirely new players when he arrives. Assistant coach Lee Douglas will lead the side until McGrath’s visa clearance is approved.

A second tier of returning players is headlined by Liam Underwood, the 2015 World Cup flyhalf who has opted to concentrate on 7s rather than XVs and now returns to the program having missed the entirety of the 2015-16 HSBC Series with injury. Phil Berna, Luke Bradley, Luke McCloskey, and Matt Mullins all played bit-parts on last year’s circuit, while Mitch Santilli spent the majority of the season recovering from ACL surgery and did not make any senior appearances.

Moving up from the Maple Leafs development group is Riley DiNardo, a stocky scrumhalf from Toronto who looks to fill in the now-vacant halfback position. Karsten Leitner is a strong-running winger who was a standout with Canada’s u20 side, and Crosby Stewart a livewire attacker from the BC Bears and protege of the departed Phil Mack. Kyle Lagasca was a non-traveling reserve for this year’s u20 side, and Isaac Kaay is an abrasive loose forward from UVic who impressed at the National University 7s competition at Burnaby in March.

Andrew Battaglia returns to Canadian contention after five seasons with the UCal Golden Bears, where he was a first team All-American 7s standout. Relative unknowns include Fijian-born David Dinbandhu of Surrey’s Brit Lions, Quebec winger Caleb Jordan, and the youngest player in the group, 18-year-old Josiah Morra of the Toronto Saracens.

Departing are some of the most prominent names in Canadian rugby over the past few years. Mack is joined in retirement by Sean Duke, Mike Scholz, and Sean White. Conor Trainor signed a pro contract with Vannes in the French Pro D2. Admir Cejvanovic and Nanyak Dala have returned to the XVs program. Lucas Hammond has chosen to focus on his education at UVic. Many other nations are expected to see similar turnarounds with the start of a new Olympic cycle.

Canada will again host the wildly successful Vancouver 7s as one of 10 stops on the 2016-17 circuit. The series kicks off on December 2 in Dubai, concluding at Twickenham in London on May 21. Canada placed 13th overall on the 2015-16 season standings and did not qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

CANADA MEN’S 7s
Phil Berna (UBC Thunderbirds), Andrew Battaglia (Aurora Barbarians), Luke Bradley (UVic Vikes), David Dinbandhu (Brit Lions), Riley DiNardo (Toronto Saracens), Justin Douglas (Abbotsford), Mike Fuailefau (Castaway Wanderers), Nathan Hirayama (Richmond), Harry Jones (Capilano), Caleb Jordan (Montreal Wanderers), Isaac Kaay (UVic Vikes), Pat Kay (Castaway Wanderers), Kyle Lagasca (Toronto Saracens), Karsten Leitner (UBC Thunderbirds), John Moonlight (James Bay), Luke McCloskey (Castaway Wanderers), Josiah Morra (Toronto Saracens), Matt Mullins (Belleville Bulldogs), Mitch Santilli (Brantford Harlequins), Crosby Stewart (UVic Vikes), Liam Underwood (Balmy Beach), Adam Zaruba (Capilano)

2016-17 HSBC SEVENS SERIES
Dec 2-3 – Dubai, UAE
Dec 10-11 – Cape Town, South Africa
Jan 28-29 – Wellington, New Zealand
Feb 4-5 – Sydney, Australia
Mar 3-5 – Las Vegas, USA
Mar 11-12 – Vancouver, Canada
Apr 7-9 – Hong Kong
Apr 15-16 – Singapore
May 13-14 – Paris, France
May 20-21 – London, England